


When

by snowzone5



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: AU, Angst, F/M, Mileven, Soulmates, mileven fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-25 18:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 18,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20030083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowzone5/pseuds/snowzone5
Summary: Mike is forced to move to Hawkins and leave his old friends behind. He wasn't happy about it. He met new friends and he meets El. This story follows Mike and El's relationship through the years.





	1. When Mike Was 9

He was not happy.

He had just found out his parents were moving to some armpit of a town called Hawkins. He'd already heard the catch phrase for it: "Where nothing ever happens."

And that would probably be for the rest of his life, all of it taking place and ending in that town.

He would miss all his friends. "You'll make new ones." His mother said. Just the way she said it made it sound like a standard phrase parents use from a book or something.

The other one she like to use on him and Nancy was, "you can talk to me."

"No mom, I can't. You wouldn't understand what it's like to be nine years old, in a new town, a new school, with no friends."

He was the Dungeon Master of his D&D group. He liked creating adventures for his friends. He almost always surprised them with his ideas. They probably never heard of the game in Hawkins. And that was assuming you could find any kids to play it.

And it's not like he could sit in his new basement and listen to music. He thought the music being played on the radio sucked. He had never been in to music anyway, he was more into books and movies.

Movies. Where was he going to find friends who liked the Lord of the Rings books, or the Star Wars movies? If they'd even heard of them. He couldn't find Hawkins on the map. They probably didn't have a theatre. Or a decent video store. Probably had crap for rental if the town had one. He'd never see another good movie again. Forget about a good bookstore.

At least he'd be able to ride his bike to school. His mom told him that the town was small enough that most kids walked or took their bike. Mike practically lived on his bike.

She also told him that it had a basement. He'd have to sleep in his room at night of course, but the basement could totally be his for him and his friends. All the friends he didn't have yet. People didn't go to small towns to raise their kids. There were no opportunities for kids, why would parents move there? He hoped his dad was making a million bucks at his new job to uproot the whole family like this.

It was pissing down rain when they moved to Hawkins.

"Perfect." Mike said. "Looks like the town is going to make its own gravy."

XXX

Mike was sitting in the sofa in the basement going through the Dungeon Masters guide when he heard the doorbell. Nobody was going to answer he was alone in the house.

He gave off a huge exaggerated sigh and ran up the stairs with his book to get rid of whoever was at the door.

As soon as he opened the door, the curly haired boy and said, "Greetings, I am the Bard, this is our Ranger, and this is our Cleric."

The "Ranger", swatted his arm and said, "he may not even know the game dumbass." The boy referred to as the Cleric, smiled and shook his head like he'd seen this played out a dozen times before. Mike liked the three of them right away.

He held up his book, "...and I'm the Paladin, and a Dungeon Master, " Mike smiled.

The curly haired boy looked at the other two, "See? I know a nerd when I see one. I'm Dustin, this is Lucas, and this is Will."

Mike stuck out his hand to shake theirs, "I'm Mike."

"When do you think you'll be ready to start the campaign?"

Lucas swatted Dustin's arm, "He didn't even say he'd do it, we've known him for less than a minute, you've already asking him about a campaign."

"We can play this Friday if you want, I can stay up late on the weekends."

"We can too, we can't stick around right now, we are on a mission." Dustin said. The other boys nodded and they said their goodbyes.

When Mike closed the door behind them he smiled to himself. It looked like he'd just made three friends. He'd been in Hawkins less than a week and he already had three friends. Things were looking up.

XXXXX

The next morning, Mike got up early, his plan today was to bike around Hawkins and get the layout of the town. Maybe check to see if they had a theatre, or a bookstore.

He was about to grab his bike leaning against the wall when he heard a soft crying. He looked over to see a boy sitting on the driveway. He wearing a blue jacket with his back to him. He had very short hair, parents probably made him get it buzzed every second day.

Mike went over to see if he could help, he could tell when he saw the boy's bike laying on the driveway what had happened. The chain had come off and the peddle spun around throwing him off.

What he hadn't expected was the boy to be wearing a pink dress. And not be a boy at all, but a pretty girl. She had very short buzzed hair.

She was crying over her scraped knee.

He knelt down in front of her, and said ,"does it hurt really bad?"

Her bottom lip quivered and she nodded her head.

"Don't move, I'll be right back. I promise."

Mike ran to his basement door, and into the laundry room to grab the first aid kit.

He ran back to the girl, knelt down in front of her again, and opened the kit up. He dabbed some alcohol from the kit on to some gauze. "Ok this might sting a bit..."

Mike looked around, "Um, ok, give me your hand."

She held out her hand and Mike took it and held it gently. "Ok just look at me ok?"

She looked at him with eyes wide, still brimming with tears.

Mike lightly padded her knee with the gauze, she winced a bit, but kept looking at Mike. He smiled at her, "juuuuuust about done. It wasn't bad at all. Knee scrapes look much worse than they really are. They're also my specialty, " Mike smiled at her and put a large square cloth bandage on her knee.

He leaned down and kissed her knee, "see all better."

The girl's eyes got very wide, and she had a surprised half smile on her face.

He immediately blushed, "um, uh, sorry, I always do that for my little sister Holly when she scrapes her knee or even her elbow… she always has me kiss her knee. She says it makes her feel better. Um, my name is Mike."

"I'm El. My knee does feel better. Thank you Mike."

Mike was still holding on to her hand. When they both realized this, Mike blushed again, and this time El did also. "I should give you back your hand."

El smiled, not quite in a rush to take her hand back. Mike looked away a little embarrassed.

"Uh, I can fix your bike chain too." Mike ran to his bike, that had a bike repair kit strapped to it. He came back put her chain back on, and tried to fix it so it wouldn't be loose and slip off again. He was unable to, he'd have check out a book at the library on bike repairs. If this town had a library.

"Um, I was about to ride around town to, I can double you on the back until you're bike is fixed?"

El looked at him for a second or two and then nodded. She walked with Mike to his bike.

"Ok hold on to me tight, I ride pretty fast." El slipped onto the bike behind Mike and put her hands around Mike's waist.

Mike felt exhilarated. He had a pretty girl holding onto to him really tight and he was biking around town. After awhile he he could tell she had rested the side of her head against his back.

He just smiled the entire time.

El never told Mike that her bike had been fixed the next day by her dad. El was never going to tell Mike. He was always so nice to her.

She asked to be doubled on the back of Mike's bike almost every day of the summer, and back and forth to school and he always said yes. She really liked Mike, she wouldn't tell him of course. She didn't want to ruin it.

Mike didn't care that he couldn't peddle as fast as he used to. He had another friend. He liked El a little more than a friend, but he'd never tell her that. He was happy to have her holding on to him when the rode around.

When Mike was 9, he met El.

His life would never be the same.


	2. When El Was 11

El really liked Mike.

He was the nicest person she'd ever met. He was kind, thoughtful, and impossibly cute. They liked each other as friends. That was obvious to everyone around them, they hung around each other all the time, much to the amusement of the rest of the Party. They helped each other with homework, and Mike still let her double on his bike everywhere they went including school.

El hoped Mike would be brave enough to kiss her. She'd fallen asleep more nights that she could count thinking about that very thing. They hadn't even held hands yet, but when they walked together on the train tracks they walked really close to each other. Their hands touched a lot. She'd look at Mike and he would be staring at the ground and his cheeks would be pink. He would be smiling though.

He knew.

That only made El smile until her own cheeks were pink and sore. She wasn't too worried. Mike was shy she knew that. He didn't seem the least bit interested in any other girl. He didn't even look sideways at them.

El's hair hadn't grown back yet. Even a year later, it should have been a little bit longer. It wasn't. Dr. Owens said it might not, and she'd have to be ok with that or wear a wig. He tried to cheer her up by saying she'd be the envy of girls by being able to change hair colour by changing wigs, he was trying to be funny and nice, but El just started crying. Her dad hugged her, and glared and Dr. Owens.

He half apologized by saying, "sorry kid, there really isn't anything we can do."

She cried herself to sleep on more than one occasion.

She had never brought it up with Mike. Why would I? She would ask herself. It's not like I'm his girlfriend or anything. Why would he care? She cared though. She thought she could be prettier for Mike if her hair was longer, and maybe he would ask her out.

For sure it didn't stop Mike from hanging out with her. He made her laugh, he looked at her with those eyes, it made her knees weak and gave her serious butterflies. She'd stare into his eyes. Or his freckles if he started to look uncomfortable.

Maybe she should tell him? She didn't want him to think they should go out because of _that._ It was her secret. Only her dad knew. If she shared it with Mike, he might feel like she thought he was special enough to share that with. Well, he _was_ special enough. Special to her. She'd tell him anything. Her dad might not think so, but her dad didn't want to be kissed by Mike. _She_ did.

She had been quite happy to sit on the sofa while the guys played their silly game. She wasn't interested in the game, even though they always offered to let her play. It had too many rules that all seemed to contradict each other. The guys got overly excited every time a new monster showed up.

How many times had Dustin said. "We're in deep shit," only to be saved by Will's fireball. Lots. That's how many times.

She would leaf through comics Mike provided for her, but she wasn't really interested in them. At first she pretended to be read them, and steal glances at Mike more often than not. Eventually she gave up the ruse and just watched Mike. Whenever he looked over at her he gave her a shy smile and she would always give him her best smile. She'd give a quiet giggle when his cheeks turned pink.

She really _really_ liked Mike.

She liked the other guys too, but she wouldn't hang out with them without Mike very often. One time she hung out with Lucas and his girlfriend Max. Max was a little rough around the edges, and didn't treat Lucas very well in her opinion. She was friends with Max, but she didn't think they'd ever be close friends. Max wasn't girly, like El was. Max didn't like dresses, or jewelry. Lucas didn't seem to mind all that. He treated Max like Mike treated her, so she knew how Lucas felt. She just wasn't sure about how Max felt about Lucas. She'd never seen them kiss.

She thought about kissing Mike again. She'd put her hands on his shoulders lean in and close her eyes and give him a soft kiss. He would put her hands on her waist and kiss her back. That's how it would go. El was sure of it.

One day she told Mike that she thought her dad liked Will's mom, but made him promise not to tell Will. Will was his best friend. The Party were _all_ Mike's best friends. She didn't really expect him to keep that promise, but as the year wore on and she'd never heard even a hint that Mike had told anyone directly or let something slip.

She came to realize that Mike kept his promises. At least if he made them to El. She was pretty sure that Mike kept his promises all the time. Sometimes he would promise her things unprompted. Like if he couldn't hang out and go with the movies with her without the Party, he'd promise to make it up later. And he always did. Mike _kept_ his promises.

El also came to realize that Mike never lied to her. Had _never_ lied to her. If he didn't feel like doing something he'd tell her he wasn't up to it and they'd just sit in his basement talking. When she asked him why he'd told her the truth his answer was simple.

"Friends don't lie. And you are my friend El."

Yes she was Mike's friend, but she wanted to be _more_ than friends. She didn't think she'd ever like anyone more than she liked Mike. She promised herself that if Mike ever asked her to be his girlfriend she'd make him happy. She'd hold his hand and kiss him whenever he wanted. Because she'd always want to. She never wanted to give him a reason to regret asking her out. She probably shouldn't feel this way being this young. She knew the way she felt. If a grown up didn't understand it, that was their problem.

She remembered the time she was sick and didn't feel like going for a ride on his bike. Her dad let her go over to Mike's anyway, and when she'd gotten there, he'd built her a blanket fort, told her to crawl into the sleeping bag and rest. Just tell him if she needed anything and he'd get it right away. She had fallen asleep with what she knew was a big smile on her face.

At lunchtime Mike had made her chicken soup, and let her go back to sleep. He sat on the sofa and watched over her the entire day. Reading his comics for sure, but mostly watching over her.

Mike was a good friend.

When Mike wasn't around she heard the way the rest of the Party talked about him. They had nothing bad to say about him. They all admitted they had their own faults but Mike didn't seem to have any.

She was taken off guard when they'd asked, "What do you think, El? You hang out with him the most. I don't know why you guys aren't boyfriend and girlfriend yet, it's not like he doesn't like you. We know he's shy though, so he might need a little encouragement."

El ran her hand over her head. Not because of the self-conscious gesture she did all the time, but to make sure she hadn't floated to the ceiling and was about to bump her head. Mike liked her? They saw what she did and immediately tried to comfort her.

"He doesn't care about your hair, El," they said.

"It doesn't take a genius to see that Mike thinks you're pretty," Dustin said. "He's just shy around you."

El's heart felt like a balloon filled with extra potent helium that would lift her off her feet.

For a full year, she silently liked Mike. Hoping that he felt the exact same. The guys always assured her he did, but knew it was embarrassing for the two of them, and didn't tease them about it. That was the kind of respect they had for both Mike and El.

So when they were 10. El didn't say anything.

But when El was 11, she told him about her ability and demonstrated for him.

His wonderfully dark eyes got big as he looked into hers and he said, "You are amazing, El!"


	3. When Mike Was 13

Mike really liked El.

He had before she told him her secret. At first he'd thought she'd gone a little loopy and was just a weirdo he'd been hanging out with for two years. But when she'd showed him, _proved_ to him that she could do it, his jaw fell open and he must have looked, completely stunned. She said that only he and her dad knew.

She didn't even have to ask. He immediately blurted out, "I promise I won't tell anyone El." She had smiled at him and nodded.

He'd kept that promise for two years. He would keep it forever because he didn't break promises. Ever.

He didn't ask her to show him again. He had visibly winced and then must have looked really worried when he saw her nose bleed. She put a hand on his arm and said, "it's ok Mike, it doesn't hurt, my nose doesn't bleed all the time, but it doesn't hurt when it does."

He'd wiped the blood off her nose with his sleeve. She smiled at him. He couldn't look into her eyes for a long time. He knew he stared whenever he did. She didn't look uncomfortable when he stared at her, but it was just downright rude. You probably shouldn't stare at a girl like that unless she was your girlfriend.

And were in love with her.

There it is, Mike thought. I don't think I really like El. I think I love her. Ok, I don't really think that. I'm pretty sure I do. He'd been thinking of that several times a day for the last year.

Not several times a day. _All_ the time. Every day. He couldn't stop thinking about her. She was always nice to him. Well, to be fair, El was nice to everyone. There wasn't a mean bone in her body, not even to Max. Mike thought she was pretty, even with her buzz cut.

_Really_ pretty.

Her eyes were breathtaking. He'd imagine them saying, "I'm yours, Mike." And he would put his hands on her waist and kiss her.

He'd say something corny in return like, "I'm your's too, El." She would wonder what he was talking about. Hopefully she would kiss him back and not be taken by surprise just realizing that he liked her. That would be awkward as all hell. It might even ruin their friendship.

Mike would never want to do that. First off, he hated losing friends period. He'd gotten lucky in moving to Hawkins, he was able to make friends almost right away. He wouldn't want to lose them. He wouldn't want to lose El as a friend by being overly forward with her. Kissing would definitely do that if she wasn't expecting it.

They hadn't even held hands yet. He wanted to hold hands with her when they walked along the train tracks. They were always walking close enough, so it's not like he had to suddenly start walking close enough to hold her hands. But she needed to be his girlfriend first.

Of course she liked him as a friend. She hung out with the Party all the time, with and without Mike. They'd gone to movies together without the Party, and shared a bag of popcorn, even a huge drink. Same straw and everything.

Mike laughed to himself. That was the closest he'd ever been to a girl's lips. One he wasn't related to anyway, Mom and Holly didn't count. And he'd rather kiss a raw turd than kiss Nancy. Wasteoid. Although since she'd started going out with Jonathan she'd gotten a lot better. More mature or something.

He wished he knew if El _like_ liked him. He didn't want to make a fool of himself. He was shy enough as it was around girls, and maybe even more so around El. If she didn't want to be his girlfriend, that would suck of course, but at least he'd still have her as a friend. He thought he could still do that. Some guys could, some guys couldn't, they would be total assholes if the girl wasn't interested in anything further than friends.

Mike would always be El's friend if she was ok with that. Who knows, if they were just friends maybe she'd feel differently down the road. That option wouldn't be there if they were never friends.

Mike didn't want to think about that though. He wanted to think that El liked him enough, so that when he asked her… and he was pretty sure he was going to ask her…. that even if she said she had to think about, 'cause sometimes girls said that, even if she said that, she would eventually say yes.

Mike's thoughts were jumbled. The only thing he could think of these days was kissing El. Maybe one day when if he was sure it wouldn't freak her out, he'd say that he loved her. He didn't think girls were ready for that at this age, or grown ups for that matter, but he didn't care. They'd forgotten what it was like to be in love.

Yes.

He loved El Hopper.

Once he admitted it to himself he felt flushed and lightheaded. Every time he thought about it he was sure his cheeks were turning red. He thought about her non stop. He tried to be extra nice to her. If she didn't want to do anything the Party suggested, even if they all wanted to, he always sided with El.

They never complained. I guess they know I like her, Mike thought. He'd been pretty obvious. Lucas had made a joke about it one time saying that Mike wanted to marry El.

Mike hadn't laughed or gotten mad. Because that's exactly what he wanted to do. Marry El Hopper. Be with her all the time. Getting to hold her hand when they were with the Party. Kissing her when they weren't around.

Mike sighed. Kissing El Hopper. Who wouldn't want to do that? She didn't seem to be interested in any other guys at school, so he was sure he'd get to kiss her, if she liked him enough that is.

But if not. If that were never going to happen he could still be one of the best friends she had. Mike was positive he'd be ok with that. It would feel a little strange at first knowing she didn't like him that way, but at least he would know, she would know how he felt. For good or bad.

Truth was, for Mike, if she wasn't interested in him, he would never have another girlfriend. Well, maybe he would later when he got a lot older, but it would be long after El was gone, so maybe never if they both lived in Hawkins.

No.

Mike couldn't wait any longer he had to ask her. Just the thought of telling the Party that El was his girlfriend made him giddy.

El's last class of the day was gym, so he was out of school first. He waited for her by the bike rack. That was their unspoken agreement if one of them was out of school first.

He never wanted her to walk, her bike had never been fixed as far as he knew. They'd both gotten used to doubling and didn't think much of it after that first day years ago.

"Mike," El said. She'd rushed out after class, not wanting to make Mike wait too long. She gave him a warm smile.

Mike had never been so nervous in his life. El picked up on it right away, she looked very concerned.

"You ok, Mike?"

Mike laughed, his voice a little shaky. "Um, El?"

"Yes Mike."

"Uh, I really like you."

"I really like you to Mike." El's smile totaled his heart. He was such a goner. Her beautiful eyes waited for him to continue.

"Would you… ?"

He didn't get to finish, "Yes Mike." She was nodding with a devastating smile, for him alone.

She was put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in. Mike put one hand on her waist the other at the small of her back to hold her closer, and kissed her tenderly.

It was a brief kiss. When they parted, Mike said, "Oh" a little surprised.

"Everything ok, Mike?" El was a little breathless, wide eyed.

"I didn't know your lips would be so soft." He blushed horribly. El smiled and looked down quickly, a mild blush creeping up her cheeks also. She looked back up at him, her eyes full of wonder.

"I didn't know your kiss would stop my heart." El said looking into his eyes.

When Mike was 13, he asked El to be his girlfriend.

And to his immense relief, she said yes.

El said yes!


	4. When El Was 14

El would always remember her first kiss.

The way he held her, the way he kissed her. She had almost fainted dead away, when they'd parted. She was breathless. She thought she replied to Mike's remark with a corny cliche, but Mike didn't laugh. He pulled her into a hug and she had been so overwhelmed with emotion she cried on his shoulder.

"It's ok, El. I feel the same way." She had cried harder, and he had hugged her a little tighter.

He had looked so relieved when El had said yes. Her heart fluttered a bit whenever she thought of it . She finally knew that Mike liked her lot. Mike was very shy, so it must have taken a lot of courage for him to ask her out. They were already really good friends, and something like that can ruin a good friendship if both don't feel the same way about each other.

Mike Wheeler had captured her heart. She had given it without hesitation. They had biked back to his house, El's arms were around his waist, holding on to him tightly. She didn't want to let go, but Mike was wheezing and told her he couldn't breathe. She giggled at his back, and loosened her grip, but just barely.

They had gone immediately to his basement and had talked and kissed for hours. She didn't know about Mike, but her lips were sore. She never kissed anybody for that long or that intensely before. It was a delicious sore, and she would go through it again gladly the next time she was alone with Mike. She would have kissed him all night but the Wheeler phone rang, El's dad said she should probably come home.

A few things happened over the year that El really liked, and a few things she didn't like.

Her dad was officially dating Will's mom, and he seemed to have mellowed out. A little bit anyway.

She told her dad that Mike had asked her to be his girlfriend. He had grinned at her and said, "so he finally made it official did he? I don't think I won the office pool. I think Powell actually did."

Her body was growing. Will's mom had helped her out with things she needed to know. She was happy about that. She was sure Mike would be too.

One day his hand went to her hip instead of her waist, he stopped suddenly and said, "whoa!"

"What is it Mike?" She looked down at herself to see if something was wrong.

"Um, uh, you have uh, hips. And uh, boo-, uh I didn't notice before."

"I'm turning into a young woman, Mike." She said half joking. Mike turned very red, he was adorable. El knew then, that when it was time for them to be intimate, she would have to take the lead. Mike would curl up and die of embarrassment first.

El had surprised herself when discovered by accident that she had some drawing talent and started doing simple pencil landscape sketches. It didn't take long for her to start sketching during game night, sometimes three for four sketches on each of those nights. She ended up with hundreds of her favourite subject. Mike.

She tried to capture his gentle eyes. His quiet demeanor. She wanted other girls to see the sketches of her boyfriend and _want_ him.

So El was happy about all those things.

She considered herself lucky. She was only unhappy about two things. Neither one of which she could do anything about.

The first thing, was that in the year of being Mike's girlfriend, her hair hadn't grown. Not an inch. She complained to Mike that she wanted to be prettier for him, but he just looked at her surprised.

"Are you kidding? You're beautiful El. You look badass with that hair. And I already _know_ you are badass with that other thing you can do." He smiled at her.

"No, El. If you don't want to take my word for it, ask any of the guys. You're really pretty. I think even Max thinks so. I don't care about your hair El. I don't. I can't tell you not to worry about it, I just want you to know it doesn't make any difference to me. It never has."

He'd made her smile. "Thank you Mike you are the perfect boyfriend." She had shaken her head astonished at how easy going he was. At the time El was having a hard time wrapping her head around the idea that Mike was so perfect for her. She hoped with all her heart that he felt the same way. Even just a little bit.

The second thing, she wasn't happy with was her monthly cycle. Guys had no idea how lucky they were not having to deal with it.. Will's mom had told her that there were going to be bad days, "no way to sugar coat this sweetie, but there will be days when you are bitchy. Even to Mike."

El was horrified. She couldn't be mean to Mike. She just couldn't. He would break up with her for sure. El was scared of that, terrified. She couldn't lose Mike just because her hormones had gone out of whack for a week, or however long it was going to take.

When it happened, El was awful to him. Called him names, and she started crying for no reason whatsoever. Called him more names, and then cried because she had. Mike took it all in stride, he looked down, slightly confused. He was his usual, considerate self. He immediately took the blame for making her angry and then making her cry. He said he didn't know what he'd done but he was sorry.

El cried some more, it wasn't his fault and she needed to let him know. She managed to tell him through her blubbering what was happening to her. Mike had turned red again.

He had cancelled the game that night, and suggested they could just sit and talk, or snuggle, if she didn't feel like talking. They didn't have to kiss or anything.

"Mike Wheeler, there's no way you're getting out of kissing your girlfriend when she feels like this." El had said in mock anger.

Mike had then given her the sweetest most gentle kiss she could remember up to that point in their relationship. That made her cry again. He hugged her until she fell asleep on his shoulder.

She had apologized when she'd gotten through it. Will's mom told her that the first few were the worst.

Mike didn't care, he told her as long as she was still his girlfriend when she felt better, they would get through them together. El assured him that she would always be with him.

That was the first time she'd seen Mike cry. He must have been thinking that she was on the verge of breaking up with him when she had her period. El had been hoping before, but now she saw that he hadn't over-reacted. Instead she saw that felt very strongly for her... he looked so vulnerable… her bottom lip trembled a bit. She recovered quickly and pulled him into a crushing hug.

They separated enough for Mike to look at her. He could scarcely talk. "I don't want to lose you."

She shook her head, "You won't lose me."

That was that day she realized an absolutely unignorable fact.

When El was 14 she knew she was in love with Mike Wheeler.

And she knew it would be forever.


	5. When Mike Was 15

Over the last year Mike has been a little worried that El was getting a little bored with him.

It wasn't exactly like she was tired of their relationship. Mike was getting the distinct feeling that El wanted something _more_ out of it.

They were together all the time. Whenever they were together, they were either holding hands if they were outside and with friends or even walking alone which they did all the time. When they weren't with their friends they were kissing. A lot. Mike grinned to himself. Kissing El was… indescribable. Mike loved kissing her. Well, he loved El, so that was no surprise to him.

One day he had accidentally put his hand on her hip. He wasn't trying to be forward, he'd just misjudged where her waist was. That was when he noticed. Maybe he'd already noticed the gradual change, but he became more aware of it in that minute. He'd been embarrassed when he'd almost mentioned she had breasts. He knew girls could be sensitive about that kind of thing. El was filling out in ways that made Mike feel, um, _different_.

He noticed her behind was very shapely, and he had to stop himself more than once from staring at it. She hadn't caught him yet, but it would just be a matter of time before she did if he didn't cut it out. He felt the hot flush in his face when she made her young woman comment. He managed to _not_ stare at her breasts, but it was like he was seeing that they were there for the first time.

But she _had_ noticed him staring at her. She just hadn't said anything the first few times. He'd felt flushed all over, his entire body glowing with embarrassment. He'd never be able to explain himself. As it turns out he didn't have to.

El looked at him and said, "it's ok for you to stare at my body, Mike." she was sincere, "it makes me feel… sexy." She struggled a bit with the word.

"And don't worry, I've been staring at your ass for weeks." El said with a nervous laugh. His face must have looked like a super ripe because it was so red. He'd never heard her say anything like that before. He didn't know what to do with the information. He imagined that's how girls felt if you told them. It's hard to know what to say to someone who tells you that.

He sighed. El wasn't just pretty, let's face it, she _was _downright… sexy. Mike could never tell her that. But at least she and an idea that he thought that. He'd rather dig a big hole, crawl in it and die of embarrassment before saying it though. He told her she was pretty fairly regularly. It came naturally for him to say that, he didn't have to force it.

The whole thing had never felt awkward between them, they were discussing their feelings with each other and being honest about that. Sure, Mike was embarrassed, but only because he didn't want El to feel ashamed or bad about something he'd said or done regarding her looks.

When she'd shown him the pencil sketch she drew of him at first he thought he was looking at a photograph. It was that good. She had drawn it with an ordinary pencil. El was even more amazing now, if that was even possible.

The day Mike discovered that El was having her period was a bad day for Mike. He'd known it was going to be bad, he'd lived through Nancy's and she was a pain in the ass for a whole week. He wasn't expecting it that particular day.

He wasn't prepared for El's first encounter with the whole thing. When he first saw her that day, she looked at him. She looked severely pissed off. At him. He didn't know why, but she had called him a few names. He was used to most of them, she hadn't come up with anything new there. He just wasn't used to hearing them from El. He didn't know what he'd done to make her feel that way. Mike was hurt. You don't expect to ever hear your girlfriend call you names, and sound like she means it. He hadn't said anything at all and she'd started crying. He'd been really confused then. He hadn't done anything! Why was she so mad at him?

He told her he was sorry, and she cried even harder. Oh, this was it. He had an idea that she was just preparing herself, and preparing him for the break up. She was going to dump him. Probably for someone else. El could have anybody in the school she wanted to. She was smart and pretty, she'd have guys lining up to ask her out.

She was trying to explain something to him through all her crying, and he was waiting for the deadliest words known to any guy who was in love, "we can still be friends."

That would be it, the last kiss. Kiss of death that is.

But El didn't break up with him. Mike was so relieved he had a hard time keeping it together.

She explained what she was going through and Mike was super embarrassed about how little he knew about girls. The class in school was one thing, it did not prepare you for the raw emotion of the actual situation. The whole subject was talked about in very clinical terms.

Mike's last resort for any kind of apology was to kiss her and hug her. She'd fallen asleep on his shoulder. Mike felt pretty bad that El had to go through that.

Later in the week when she'd gotten through it, they were sitting in the exact same position they always did on the sofa, El had apologized.

She said she didn't mean anything she'd said, it was the hormones talking and she said would always be with him.

Mike wasn't able to control himself any longer and he broke down and started crying. He wasn't expecting it so he'd surprised himself a little, but he was sure he lost a few dignity points with the amount of water leaking from his eyes.

El had hugged him tightly. He didn't want to lose her. He was deathly afraid of that. He told her even though he could barely talk.

She said he wouldn't lose her, and Mike could hear the promise in her voice.

The rest of the year had gone very well. When El wasn't feeling herself they just snuggled on the sofa. Mike could tell that sometimes she didn't feel like it, but she always told him she appreciated the closeness and that he cared. She said it definitely helped to know that he understood and would not feel badly if she wasn't as attentive as her usual self.

It happened one day. Mike had decided that El had to know. Once he'd made the decision he felt like a weight was being lifted off his shoulders, and he'd be able to breathe again once he'd got it out into the open.

He called El back over, within minutes after she'd just left the Wheeler basement.

When he'd opened the door, her pretty eyes were wide with worry.

"Something wrong Mike?" El asked, her voice faltering a bit.

"I have to tell you something," Mike said looking down.

He led her to the sofa. She was wringing her hands, on the verge of tears. Mike held her hands to calm her down.

When Mike was 15, he told El Hopper he loved her.

She bit her bottom lip, nodded, leaned in, sighed against his lips and said, "I love you too, Mike"


	6. When El Was 16

El had three favourite days.

The first day was when Mike had put a bandage on her knee.

The second day was when he asked her to be his girlfriend and kissed her. It was her first kiss. It was one of the sweetest kisses she'd ever had. Mike was good at duplicating it though, she loved the way Mike kissed her.

The third day, was when Mike said that he loved her. She would never forget that day. After all she'd been through, someone thought she was special enough to be loved.

El Hopper loved Mike Wheeler.

Mike loved El. She had probably written it on every page of her school notebooks. She felt a little woozy every time she did.

They had discovered later that they had loved each other much sooner but both were scared to say anything for fear of ruining their friendship by making it too awkward to be around each other. They'd laughed nervously about it, glad that their feelings for each other were finally out in the open.

But, now El was feeling insecure and unsure of herself, of their relationship.

She was scared to death that she might not be able to hold on to Mike. It was nothing he'd done or said.

She wasn't exactly sure when it started but two things had happened that cast doubts in her mind, and they had just steamrolled to the point where she was in a constant state of anxiety about them.

Mike, who had never been into music, had gotten a guitar for Christmas. It proved to El that his parents had no clue about his interests or his hobbies.

For his part Mike took to it right away, and found he had some talent. El told him not to kid himself he had a _lot_ of talent. And he could sing. Mike was so soft spoken that El had a bit of a hard time adjusting to his singing voice. Mike was shy in person, but once he got on the stage at school he transformed. El still felt a little uneasy with the whole thing, but he was back to his ordinary self when he was with her.

El noticed that girls in the audience were swooning. Not just some of them, _all_ of them. Some of the guys were too. There were a few of these girls who were absolutely gorgeous and could have any guy they wanted, but they seemed to have their eyes set on Mike.

So El was feeling insecure about that whole situation. And she didn't know what to do. Her hair still hadn't grown out. She was self-conscious about it all the time. Mike told her numerous times he didn't care, and she knew he wasn't lying to make her feel better.

She was having a hard time coming to grips with the possibility of her hair _never_ growing longer. It didn't help her anxiety. She still felt like she could be prettier for Mike.

All that was bad enough, but then there was the day her and Mike were sitting on the sofa, having a heavy make out session. El was ready and willing for Mike to do something more, put his hand under her sweater or maybe even get a little bolder. El was ready. She was nervous for sure because he was so shy and she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable about it.

She could see that Mike was blushing, he had been about to try something, her breath had caught when she realized it. Then they were interrupted by a knock on the basement door.

It was Max.

Max and El had become pretty good friends. Max had obviously been frustrated that El would ignore her, and rarely even say hi to her when they all got together.

On one of the gaming nights, Max had cornered El in the laundry room, and asked her, "Why don't you like me?"

"Do you really want to know?" El had decided to be blunt.

"Yes, I do," Max had her hands on her hips waiting for an answer..

"Lucas is a really nice guy, and you treat him like shit. He's Mike's best friend, Mike is _your_ friend."

"Lucas loves it," Max smirked.

"No, Max. He doesn't. He puts up with it because he loves _you_."

Max was silent for a moment, and then said, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me, Max. You have to apologize to Lucas. Listen, the Party knows your home life sucks. You get a certain amount of leeway for that. But Lucas is not your home life, he's there for you…. And if it helps, Mike and I will be here for you too."

El had done something then that had surprised both herself and Max at the same time. She had hugged Max. Max had cried on her shoulder. Their friendship had blossomed that night. Both girls now had someone to share secrets with, boys not allowed type of secrets.

So the night that Max knocked on the door, she flung herself into Mike's arms her breath hitching she was sobbing so hard.

El was concerned immediately and rushed to Mike's side. Mike shrugged with his eyes to El, and El took over. She finally managed to find out from Max the reason why she was crying.

Lucas had broken up with her. Even after the talk that El and Max had weeks previous, Max still continued being Max. She had a hard time letting her softer side come through and she was sure that Lucas had gotten tired of it.

Mike offered to go talk to Lucas. Max didn't respond but nodded to Mike and he left for the Sinclair's.

El made some tea and her and Max had another talk..

"It's the band," Max said. "I'm sure of it. It's not just me, not after all this time."

"What's the band?" El had asked.

"Haven't you noticed the way girls are all over them? Doesn't that bother you at all? I mean look at Mike, he went from looking like a nerd when he was twelve or thirteen, to what he is now, a rock star slash model. El, the girls are drooling over him."

El ignored her comment. She couldn't think about that right now.

"So you think Lucas broke up with you because he's interested in a groupie? That doesn't sound like Lucas. Not at all."

"El have you seen those girls, with the big hair?" Max looked down when she saw El run her hand over buzzed hair. "Sorry El, I know that your hair bothers you."

"It's ok Max, Mike says he doesn't care, so I guess I'll get over it…" El trailed off but Max knew that El didn't believe what she was saying to herself.

"It's not just the hair, El. They are showing a lot more skin then you are. All the time, not just at the school shows. They hang around when the band practces at school. Whenever you aren't around. That's not very often because you and Mike are glued to each other." Max smiled, and so did El when she heard that.

"But every time you aren't around. I see Mike talking to girls at his locker, at their locker. I'm sure he's just being polite. Mike has always been that way. Haven't you noticed any change in him?"

El looked down, she hadn't really. If she thought about it she would have said their relationship was just as strong, as it had always been. Maybe even stronger.

For the first time since Mike and told her he loved her, she felt unsure of it. Not of her love for Mike. That would never change.

When El was 16, she didn't know if Mike still loved her.

El was terrified of losing Mike. She was sick to her stomach at the thought. She had to know for sure. Asking Mike terrified her even more.


	7. When Mike Was 17

The last year had been a bit of a whirlwind for Mike.

He'd had a bit of a growth spurt and was now a full head taller than El. His parents had let him grow his hair a bit. It was an unruly black mop that wouldn't stay neat no matter how much he brushed it, forget about getting a comb through it. El said she loved running her fingers through his hair. She did it all the time, and every time got them tangled in his hair, she'd giggle and say they'd just have to stay stuck or that Mike would have to cut his hair to free her.

The good things seemed to happen quickly one after another. In the space of a year he'd gotten an electric guitar, found he had some talent with it, formed a group with the Party, managed to get some gigs at the school. He had more girls hanging around him then he would have ever managed.

It was the music thing. Mike wasn't stupid, if he hadn't been up on stage singing with a guitar slung over his shoulder girls wouldn't have given him the time of day.

Mike had gotten his driver's license, and when his parents had bought a new car, they'd let Mike use their old one whenever he wanted. He used to to haul his equipment around, and to drive El in and around Hawkins.

He wasn't sure what happened but it seemed like overnight El and Max had become friends. Good friends. He figured they had shared some kind of mutual secret and they had bonded over that. Mike was happy for El. She at least had a girl her own age who could be her confidant although Mike was pretty sure that El told him everything that was bothering her.

That stopped Mike in his thoughts. There were bad things that happened. El had told him about the lab, that she couldn't have children. Surprisingly that hadn't bothered Mike that much. It means he could devote all his time to El. He was very ok with that.

That wasn't the worst thing. It all started the night Max had knocked on his basement door.

He was on the sofa with El. There was no way to describe it, El was all over him. He didn't mind, he knew what she wanted him to do and Mike was working up the courage to maybe touch one of her breasts. He was scared, and embarrassed. If he did would she be ok with it? Or would she slap his hand away and leave in a huff, angry that he couldn't keep his hands to himself.

He'd made up his mind to try something, he could always beg for forgiveness afterwards if he was getting wrong signal for El. He didn't think he was though. Either way El would forgive him he was sure, but it would be awkward kissing her on the sofa in the future.

The knock on the door changed everything. He found that Lucas had broken up with Max. He couldn't imagine what had happened. Lucas loved Max. The more Mike thought about it he could see Lucas had been very receptive to the attention he was getting by all the girls. He knew, like Mike did, that it was all superficial, but Lucas seemed to like spotlight.

Mike had gone over to the Sinclair house to talk to Lucas.

"Let me guess," Lucas said, "she came crying to you guys? Did she send you over Mike?"

"No, I offered to come over to talk to you… what happened?"

"Broke up with her, man."

"I thought you loved her?" Mike had asked him.

"I do… did. How often do you and El kiss?"

Mike got a little red faced, "all the time Lucas, you know that, you and Dustin have complained about it enough times."

"Do you know how times Max I and kissed in… let's say… the last week?"

"None?"

"Close. Once. Can you imagine only kissing El maybe once a week? I like kissing her Mike. I'm guessing she doesn't. "

Mike couldn't. He knew El wouldn't all that happy about it either.

"Did you try to talk to her about it?"

Lucas just looked at Mike, "of course I did. Was like talking to a brick wall. So I decided to walk away from the wall."

"She's in pretty bad shape over at my place"

"She didn't seem that upset when I told her we were done. She stomped out. Plenty of girls are interested in me now, Mike."

"What? Those girls are airheads Lucas, If you weren't in a band, they wouldn't look twice at you. Don't be an idiot."

Lucas shrugged, "I've seen you talking to them too Mike. You not interested?"

"Uh, no Lucas I'm not. I love El. These girls don't have two brain cells to rub together between any three of them. I'm not interested. You guys aren't gonna get back to together are you?"

"Don't need the misery, Mike, I put up with it for long enough as it was. I'm done."

XXXXX

When Mike got back to El in his basement, Max was already gone. He noticed the change in her right away. That was the day that El started being… he didn't know… at little distant? She was very quiet, more so than usual. And she wasn't kissing him the same way. The kisses too, were… distant.

He wasn't going to ask her what Max said. Max was obviously angry, might even have told El some things that were complete fabrications. Angry girls were not to be trifled with, Mike thought.

The change in El, was bothering Mike, he knew what the issue was. The only way to get away from the limelight that was obviously attracting all the girls was to not be in a band.

If the guys still wanted to be in a band, Steve could take over the guitar playing duties, and Dustin could easily replace Mike as a singer. At least he wouldn't be leaving the rest of the guys high and dry. The band was not worth losing El over. Not even close.

One day one of the airheads was talking to him at his locker, and El and walked by, ignoring him her head down, her shoulders slumped, trying not to be noticed.

Oh shit. Mike went into panic mode right away. He closed up his locker and walked away from the girl who was still babbling at him. He hadn't really heard a word she'd said, he was not the least bit interested in her story about finding the right nail polish for the prom.

He found El, with her forehead against the locker, her shoulders still slumped, they were shaking.

She was crying.

Mike came up behind her and hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, and whispered into her ear.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you El. I love you. I don't care what anybody has told you. _I'm_ telling you. Tell me what you want me to do."

El had turned around, her head still down, but she raised her arms and put them around Mike's neck.

"Do you still love me, Mike?"

Mike held her head in both of his hands gave her a soft kiss and looked into her eyes. "Never stopped El. I _love_ you. We are not Max and Lucas. They don't have what we have. Do they?"

El shook her head, "they don't Mike, nobody is going to feel for you the way I do."

When Mike was 17, he realized that he and El were soulmates.

Both of them made promises that day. And as soulmates do, they would be together forever.


	8. When El Was 18

El was not ashamed to admit, that she was elated when Mike had given up the band. She knew it was selfish on her part. It let her know that Mike thought their relationship was more important than a garage band, and she'd been feeling so insecure that it was exactly what she needed to hear.

She'd told him weeks later she didn't mind if he went back to the band. She secretly hoped he wouldn't.

Mike simply shook his head. "The cost was way too high El. You don't know what it did to me, thinking that _you_ thought I didn't love you. Nothing was further from the truth. I don't care what Max told you, she probably wanted you to follow in her footsteps. Nope. I'm done with the band. It was fun, but it started to get to me. When I think of what could have happened. That I almost lost you."

"I told you when we were 14 Mike. You won't lose me. That's still true. I'm always going to love you. I can't even describe how much I love you. My dictionary isn't any help there."

El had been so relieved that she started crying. Mike had kissed away the tears and kissed her for a long time after she said that. He had to practically carry her to the sofa her knees had totally given out.

El noticed that from then on Mike always walked a little bit closer to her. He _always_ held her hand when they were together. And he seemed to hold it a bit tighter than usual. As if he really were afraid to lose her. She lost count of the number of times he kissed her on an average day.

She knew what it was like to have someone totally dedicated to you. It was exhilarating.

Even though she lived next door, Mike would be waiting for her every morning, to walk her to his car, so he could drive them to school. In the winter time he made sure the car was fully warmed up before she got in.

He would walk her to every class, even if it meant missing the first few minutes of his own classes. She could tell that some of the other girls were jealous. There was no other explanation. They saw the way Mike treated her, how he doted on her. They were watching two people deeply in love and it made the ones not already jealous a little melancholy knowing they may never find somebody like Mike. _Her_ Mike.

A few of them tried to come on to Mike, sometimes with El standing right there. He would just walk away from them, put his arm around El's waist and lead her away.

Her and Max had drifted apart, Max seemed to be angry all the time and El didn't need that kind of negativity. She wanted to be there for Max, but couldn't find any kind of common ground with her. She didn't seem to be interested in Lucas anymore, and El started to wonder if maybe her emotional display that night was more of an act.

As for Lucas he seemed to go through a string of girlfriends. Mike said he wasn't keeping track, but clearly they weren't engaging Lucas intellectually, and El reminded Mike that maybe that stimulating Lucas' brain wasn't what Lucas, or any of the girls, had in mind.

El was saddened to see that Mike and Lucas had drifted apart, he said that it seemed like Lucas had lost his way after he and Max had split up.

Dustin had left the band also, his girlfriend having the same issues El had already dealt with. Dustin followed in Mike's footsteps and was happy to do so.

Mike and Dustin and started hanging out more. Both had gotten interested in computers and found they had a knack for fixing them. All the schools in Hawkins had hired them to fix the classroom computers whenever there were problems.

El wanted to take their relationship to the next level. As expected, she knew that Mike would be too shy to make a move. He'd always been a perfect gentlemen when it came to their make out sessions. He kept his hands to himself. El was a little frustrated, but she loved that Mike was respectful and she knew that he didn't really want to ruin anything.

El had decided to make it easier for him.

On a weekend when Mike's parents were taking Holly to visit Nancy and Jonathan at college, and by sheer coincidence her dad had to go to some policemen's conference in Chicago. El made her up her mind.

She had worn a sheer button down shirt, and a skirt that fell to just above her knees. And that's _all_ she wore. Mike would get the hint.

They were making out on the sofa, as usual. She had almost burst out laughing when he seemed to completely miss the fact that she had no bra on. Or the state that resulted from that. Mike had accidentally put his hand on her, and then yanked it away quickly when he'd realized what he'd done and why it felt the way it did. El put his hand back.

Mike was smart. He got it right away.

He stood up, held out his hand. El looked up at him, "what's wrong Mike." She held out her hand to grab his.

"Where are we going?" She was confused as he pulled her to a standing position.

"To my room."

"Your room?"

"It's where my bed is El."

It was El's turn to burn a deep shade of crimson. But it was time for them. She was suddenly more nervous than she'd thought she would ever be. Mike seemed calm and in control.

Mike could see her cheeks and that she had suddenly gotten very shy. "We don't have to El. I, uh, I thought you wanted to?"

"I do Mike," She had looked into his dark eyes. She trusted Mike unconditionally, he would never hurt her. He leaned in gave her the kind of kiss that she'd been waiting for. She was _ready._

When El was 18, she surrendered herself willingly to Mike.

For Mike's part, El knew he gave himself body and soul to her. He turned out to be commanding, gentle… and quite skilled. They spent the night together snuggled in each other's arms. Neither one regretted the decision. It didn't change the way they felt about each other. It only made their bond stronger.

Completely unbreakable.


	9. When Mike was 19

Mike had not been expecting that night.

It seemed like El had been about to laugh the entire time they were making out. Mike's confidence took a little bit of a hit.

When he saw why, when he _felt_ why, he was embarrassed and turned on at the same time.

El had been very understanding. When she put his hand back, he knew. It was time. They were both ready.

Mike thought that the only thing that had really surprised him that night was how adventurous El was. Mike didn't complain.

They had both quickly gotten over their shyness and let nature take over. Afterwards they both felt closer to each other. Nothing would separate them. They would be together forever. Mike didn't need to think twice about that. He didn't need to think about it ever again.

In the morning they had made breakfast together, each smiling at each other through the whole process.

He had given her a few quick kisses.

"Mike, those are very chaste kisses. You can do better."

"If I do better, El, we'll just end up back upstairs."

"Then we end up back upstairs, Mike. Kiss me."

And that was exactly what had happened.

XXXXX

The year had gone well for Mike and El.

El had been commissioned to do sketches for a variety of companies in Hawkins, her work was getting known as far away as Chicago.

She had created her own niche in the art world, taking it by storm. Her pencil sketches had been in high demand to the point where she had to start charging more for them. Will told her she could go even higher. Will did more fringe genre stuff then El did, but he knew talent when he saw it.

A state historian had come to Hawkins to research a book and wanted El to do a sketch of the town. She didn't really want to do it, so she told him she was backlogged for current work.

He had told her to name her price. When she had asked Mike, he told her to give him a ridiculous number if she wasn't up to it.

The guy didn't balk at the price at all. Said he would gladly pay that for one of El Hopper's pencil sketches.

It was a very big boost for El's confidence. The word got around even faster and what was once high demand, was now a career spanning opportunity for her.

El felt guilty that she could sketch them so quickly but charge that kind of money.

"It's called talent, El. You have it, everyone wants a piece of it."

Mike could not have been prouder of his girlfriend.

XXXXX

Mike and Dustin had turned their computer repair hobby into a business. With personal computers becoming more and more popular they had no end in sight for customers. They eventually had to hire someone to help. Even the local Radio Shack had hired them to fix computers.

Dustin had the great idea of offering home service, and the number of customers doubled and then tripled.

They eventually came up with a name for their business: "Nerds In Your House."

Surrounding towns started asking for help, and they finally had to open up offices in those towns.

Mike's parents weren't exactly pleased that he hadn't applied to any colleges. There was a bit of an argument with them where he tried to explain that he didn't want to go to college just to say he'd gone to college. He wanted to learn something that he could actually use to make money. Otherwise it was just a waste of their own money.

His parents hadn't argued with them. Mike's logic was infallible. They did ask him what he wanted to go to college for, and only Mike's dad even half understood what a "computer programmer" was.

The problem was that the whole market was so new, colleges were not offering courses for it yet. At least not modern ones where punch cards weren't involved.

So Mike would wait. He knew that living at his parents place was going to wear thin soon, maybe not for his parents, but it would for him.

XXXXX

One day Mike put on a very serious face for El, he took her to the basement and sat her on the sofa.

"I have two things very important to tell you El."

He could see the worry in her face, he didn't let it get too far.

"Um, one, you've been sleeping with a nerd. And a successful nerd. Dustin and I have been doing really well with the business."

When El smiled it wasn't just with her mouth, the smile went to her eyes. Her whole face smiled at him. Mike forgot to breathe.

"You really do take my breath away El." He looked into her eyes. She nodded back to him. He held her hands and gave her a soft kiss.

"But that wasn't the second thing. It was important, but not as important as what I'm about to say."

"Ok, Mike."

"You probably haven't noticed because you're too close to it, but… um, you're hair is growing longer."

El immediately looked around for a mirror. Mike reached over to the coffee table and picked up a waiting hand mirror.

El looked into it, ran her hands over her head. Her beautiful eyes had gotten as big as Mike had ever seen them. Somehow she seemed prettier than she had a minute ago.

"It is!" She had thrown her arms around Mike and kissed him all over his face.

"Uh, I don't think I had anything to do with that El, but I'll take the kisses."

She suddenly stopped and looked at him, "Do you want me to grow my hair longer, Mike?"

Mike was speechless at first. He didn't know how to answer. El saw the look on his face, had put a hand on his shoulder and said, "There's no wrong answer Mike."

"I've known you since you were nine with that hair. It's ok if you want to keep it short. Doesn't change how pretty you are, will never change how much I love you. But, you can always cut it short if you don't like it long… go for it El." Mike wasn't sure if that was the answer she'd been looking for.

"Good answer," El said with her beautiful smile.

"Um, there is one more thing." Mike was suddenly nervous and shy again around El. He'd thought he was over that.

"Mike?" El could almost directly sense his feelings.

When Mike was 19 he asked El to move in with him.

El never hesitated. She nodded, smiled, said yes and kissed him all at the same time. At least it seemed that way to Mike.


	10. When El Was 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apolgies if these are getting too fluffy. :)

El did not think it was possible to love Mike Wheeler any more than she already did.

When Mike had told her her hair had grown a little she was sure it was because she was so happy and her body was responding to that happiness.

So even though Mike had said he didn't have anything to do with it, El firmly believed he did. He was fully responsible for how happy she felt.

Every time he looked at her with those eyes, she felt her knees get a little wobbly and had to sit down. He always came over to see if she was alright, and the one time she had explained what she was feeling, he'd blushed.

"When you look at me El… when I see that your smile is for me… I can't breathe, or forget to breathe… that's the effect you have on me."

El would have never imagined she'd have that kind of effect on any guy. This had happened long before Mike told her that her hair was growing. He'd told her she was pretty years ago. He told her that all the time.

Just knowing that Mike loved her made her reel. Mike could have had any girl he wanted. But he had picked her. How did she get that lucky?

The kindness he had shown her that first day when he didn't even know her. He had kissed her knee because he thought it would make her feel better. She liked him that very first day. That like had grown into love. And that love had grown into something she could not put into words.

He had sacrificed a hobby he liked. He had done it for her. _Everything_ Mike had done he had done for her. He made her feel special.

He never brought up her ability or asked her to use it. El had found that if something wasn't important to her, it was not important to Mike. Nobody but her dad, Mike and Dr. Owens even knew. She never used it in front of him, but she practiced a lot and was pleased with how proficient she was with it. It may not have been the best gift she'd ever received, Mike filled that role, but she would not ignore it.

El could honestly say that she loved Mike so much it hurt her heart the few times she had seen him cry. She did her best to put a smile on his face. Seeing Mike smile made her heart swell to bursting.

When Mike has asked her to move in with him there was no hesitation on her part. She had been told this would be a test of their relationship... She knew better. The best thing for her and Mike to do was to be together. As much as possible.

She told her dad that night both things Mike had told her. That her hair seemed to have grown a bit, and that Mike had asked her to move in with him.

"Kid takes forever to ask you anything. " He had grinned.

"You have any place in mind? You know it's going to be up to you right? Mike would never make the decision for you. "

El _had_ hesitated before she answered. She looked down and said, "I thought maybe we could use the cabin…"

When she looked up he was dangling the keys beside his head.

"Good idea. Are you going to grow your hair long for Mike?"

She'd ran over and hugged his middle. "Yes."

"I'm gonna lose my little girl." His voice was a shaky whisper.

"You are never going to lose me dad. I promise."

XXXXX

With the exception of a few personal things, neither of them had to move anything heavy to the cabin. The walk through the woods made carrying anything more than a little cumbersome.

"I can carry you El, your shoes will be in bad shape if you walk in this."

El just gave him a look and laughed, "I'm not a delicate flower Mike, besides I could carry _you_. You'd collapse after a few steps anyway."

"You're right. I don't have the upper body strength Dustin has. I don't know I'm going to carry you across the…" Mike trailed off.

"Across what?"

"Nothing for you to worry about," Mike said. "Let's get moving, I think we are going to be getting a storm tonight. Could start raining any minute. Are your snuggling abilities, still good? I think we may have to all night long."

She had given him a huge grin. Snuggling with Mike all night was now her number one priority once they got settled into the cabin.

The trip through the woods didn't seem as long as it used to when she was younger. She hoped the cabin wouldn't seem too small.

It would be bigger than any apartment they could get in Hawkins, that was for sure.

El could see Mike's look of fear when he saw the trip wire. He immediately looked around, and moved closer to her to protect her.

"It's ok, Mike," El wanted to reassure him. "The danger is over. It was tense for almost a year, but the bad men are gone. I am safe. _We_ are safe. My dad made sure of that."

"I had no idea," Mike said quietly.

"I've kept a lot of details from you Mike. They would have just made you feel bad. That part of my life was awful, but it's over and behind me. I only want to concentrate on us."

The move into the cabin went smoothly. Mike, obviously had never been there before he hadn't even known about it the entire time he and the guys had explored Hawkins. El had kept it a secret.

"This is cozy!" Mike had said looking around.

"This was my home for a few years. After my dad rescued me. Now it can be our home." She walked up to Mike. He had put his arms around her waist.

"My home is where you are, El."

After her dad had rescued her from the lab, they lived in the cabin where she was safe and loved.

When El was 20, she was back living in the cabin, still safe, and loved beyond her comprehension.

El thought that her life could not get any better.

She was wrong.


	11. When Mike Was 21

That first night in the cabin, their new home, was like a dream come true for Mike. He had gone from being called frogface by bullies, to living with the prettiest girl in Hawkins, in a place where only one person knew where they were.

The girl he loved, and who loved him, was curled up to his side, her arms around his waist, her head on his shoulder. They had a blanket over them and listened to the nasty storm that was brewing outside. Everything was almost perfect.

They fell asleep that way.

XXXXX

Dustin and Mike's company grew way beyond their expectations. They found they had to hire more employees, managers, rent more office space in more locations. Mike found it was taking up more time than he wanted. He didn't want to lose any time with El.

He figured the universe must have agreed because a much larger tech company wanted to buy them out. For a ridiculous amount of money. Dustin would stay on, but Mike took the opportunity to retire.

"Aren't you going to get bored." El said a little worried about what Mike would do with his free time.

"I'm going to teach myself to program computers. I can work from home." They both smiled at the mention of home.

"I won't need to go into an office, and Dustin is running our little company better than I could. He's getting plenty of support from the tech company that bought us. They are hands off unless we ask. Unless Dustin asks. I made more money that I thought possible. I want to be with you all the time."

El had given him one of those smiles that destroyed his knees.

XXXXX

During one of their regular walks in the woods, Mike could tell that El was feeling a little bit playful. "Close your eyes."

Mike smiled and did so. He heard the noise of El running around him. And then nothing.

When he opened his eyes she was nowhere to be seen. "Hide and seek." Mike said. Ok, he was pretty good at that.

Not as good as he thought, a full fifteen minutes had passed and he hadn't found her. He stood quietly and listened for her to run from one tree to the next.

Nothing.

After half an hour with no sign of El, Mike started to get worried. He shouted but managed to work a laugh into his voice, "Ok, El, you win, I can't find you."

Nothing.

After forty-five minutes. Mike yelled out again, this time he didn't try to keep the worry from his voice. "If you're hurt El, make a noise, I will find you."

Nothing.

"El!"

Still nothing.

"EL!" Mike started screaming until he was hoarse.

He ran farther from the cabin than they had traveled before.

After ninety minutes, Mike was a mess. He could no longer yell because his voice was ragged. He could barely catch his breath from all the running and crying he'd done.

"El?" Mike's voice had lost hope. What was he going to do?

El stepped out from behind a tree, and giggled, "took you long enough-" She saw his face and immediately burst into tears. She ran to him.

"Mike!"

XXXXX

That was a day when Mike was feeling a little more than insecure. He tried to reassure El. He knew she would be feeling responsible. She had run a little too far out of ear shot and had never heard him calling. Mike didn't think he was very successful. El looked sullen and would not let go of his waist the entire way back. It looked like ti was about to rain as they made their way to the cabin.

El was getting her shoes off, when she noticed that Mike had not moved behind her.

She turned round.

"I love you, El"

"I love you too, Mike."

"I _really_ love you El."

She smiled back at him, "and I really love you too, Mike."

Mike knew he was looking frustrated, "no, I mean…"

El had put a finger on his lips to shush him. "Mike, I know. If you feel the same way I do, you don't have the words. You don't need them, you have me."

Mike pulled her to him, held her tightly and kissed her for a long, long time.

XXXXX

Mike could tell that El was aware that something was wrong. Mike wanted to be closer to her, not just physically, that wasn't a problem. He couldn't properly express himself, and he was sure that she felt the same way. He was at a loss.

One night Mike was reading a book, and El was sketching in an art notebook, occasionally glancing up at him. Mike started to look at her, not quite believing she was sitting here with _him_. She looked up at him and gave him a smile. He was done reading for the night. He closed his book and set it down on the coffee table. He knew what he had to do.

"Snuggle time?" El asked, already knowing the answer. She put her notebook down on the coffee table and scooted over to Mike, curling up next to him. He grabbed the blanket they used and draped it over them.

After a few minutes El gave off a big contented sigh. "This is perfect Mke. You are perfect."

"I have the girl I love snuggled up to me, there's only one thing that would make this better."

"What's that?" El said. She seemed to be drifting off and sounded half asleep enjoying their quiet time..

When Mike was 21 he asked El to be his wife.

She sat straight up, wide eyed. After she said yes, she saw the tears trickling down Mike's cheeks.

"Oh, Mike… did you think I wouldn't say yes?" She put her hands behind his neck and pulled him in kissed away the tears, Mike gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged.

"I want to be yours, Mike I have waited to say it... I would have said yes when I was nine."


	12. When El Was 25

They had taken a walk in the woods around the cabin. El thought she would show her playful side to Mike. She had told him to close his eyes, and she ran off to hide. Her plan was to peak very obviously from behind various trees, so that Mike would see her. She knew these woods better than her dad did, better than anyway did. She wouldn't get lost, but she'd be able to hide from Mike easily.

At first she ran from tree to tree, trying to be quiet. She didn't want to be spotted right away. There wasn't any fun in that!

Mike didn't find her.

When they were kids Mike was able to find her almost right away, she didn't expect any different today. Mike didn't know these woods like she did. She knew she'd be able run and hide even if he spotted her.

A long time passed and she hadn't heard from Mike at all. She started to get worried. Had he tripped in the woods and hit his head on a tree trunk? She started to imagine all kinds of nightmare scenarios. None of them had Mike surviving the day.

What would she do without Mike? She couldn't go there, it was unthinkable. It would paralyze her. El would simply wither away and die without Mike's love. There was no other alternative.

It was well over an hour when she finally spotted him moving aimlessly through the trees, she picked a tree she knew that he would pass by and hid behind it.

When she could hear him getting close she stepped out and chided him for the time time it took him to find her.

She was shocked at Mike's appearance. He had bloody scratches on his face and his hands, he looked cold and scared.

And his eyes were utterly lost.

He hadn't registered her presence, and when El realized Mike was in a total daze, tears erupted from her eyes. She called out his name in a panic and ran to him She held him tightly not letting go, and led him back to the cabin.

When they had gotten back to the cabin, Mike told her he loved her. Well, she knew that already, but Mike sounded desperate for her to know how much. She tried her best to reassure him that she was his. The kiss he gave her she would never forget. Mike wanted to let her know with his kiss, that his love was infinite. That she could take whatever she needed, whatever she wanted, and he would still have more to give her.

El had not been more than ten feet away from Mike since then.

It was only a few days later, Mike had been unusually quiet. Something was bothering him, but El gave him his space. He would eventually tell her. Mike never kept secrets from El. She still had some secrets she kept from Mike. Four years ago she felt like she still needed to keep them from her.

And then one night Mike asked her to marry him. She often admitted to herself when they were growing up, that if he ever asked her, she'd probably just start crying. To her own surprise, she didn't, but when she said yes, Mike did.

Each tear she tasted when she kissed him seemed sweeter than the last one. That was when she found out it _was_ possible to love Mike more than she already did.

They had gotten married within a week of Mike asking her. Getting the marriage license at the Clerk's Office had been painless. It had been a simple ceremony, no witnesses were needed.

When they'd gotten back to the cabin, Mike had insisted on carrying her across the threshold. He still didn't have a lot of upper body strength, and was clearly embarrassed to be struggling with her in a cradle carry.

He _did_ find some new found strength when she told him to carry her straight to the bedroom. El took care of the door locking duties.

XXXXX

Mike and El had taken to wandering around the mall. They would hold hands and steal glances or smiles at each other. People passing them by would often comment to each other on how they seemed inseparable. El would not let go of his hand the entire time they were at the mall, so Mike often found himself in women's clothing stores, including lingerie stores. Mike was not the least bit embarrassed. El found herself in the computer or electronics stores as the trade off.

They would usually take a break and head to the food court, for a coffee and just talk quietly about nothing.

"So, have you heard?" El said one day.

"Oh, gossip?" Mike replied.

"I have the most incredibly handsome guy in this mall, and probably in Hawkins. And we are married. How did I get that lucky?"

"I'm the lucky one El. I have the sweetest, kindest girl who somehow found me, and then…" Mike hesitated, getting a little emotional, he cleared his throat, "and then decided I was worth loving. No El. I_'m_ the lucky one."

El got up from sitting across the table and moved to the seat beside him. She hugged his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Love you Mike…"

Mike turned, kissed her forehead and sighed. "You are my girl, El. Always will be."

"Don't look now, but I think I see Max and Lucas, making their way over to us… and… uh, they're holding hands."

They hadn't seen either of f them in years. Nobody said anything at first. The tension in the air was a little thick. It was El who spoke first.

"You are holding hands."

"I was stupid." Both Lucas and Max said at the same time.

"I haven't seen either of you in almost ten years," Mike said.

"My fault," Lucas said. "I needed to get my shit together, that took me more time than it should have. And then I needed to convince Max that I loved her and we should be together."

"How long did that take?" El was asking Max.

Max and Lucas looked at each over. Both said "fifteen seconds," at the same time.

"True love," El smiled at Max.

Max nodded, keeping her eyes downcast, she was acting very subdued, much like someone who had been been given a second chance. Lucas was acting the same way. They had not let go of each other's hands since they'd sat down.

"What about you two? You guys are way overdue for…"

Mike leaned over and kissed El just above the ear. "Four years ago, Lucas. And she said yes... she said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done."

XXXXX

They had been married about a year, when El started having a guilty conscience. Mike still didn't know everything about her. At first even though she was able to justify her secret, it was starting to weigh on her. Just a little bit at first, but as the days continued, turning to years the guilt was too much. El made up her mind.

She hated to see him cry. Hated it with a passion, but he _had_ to know. Mike deserved to know.

When El was 25, she told Mike everything about her time at the lab.

The soul wrenching sound of his crying broke her heart. Now full of doubt about how he felt about her, she asked him if he still loved her. He said three words.

"Forever. I promise."


	13. When Mike Was 30

Mike never did go to college. It wasn't like he wasn't smart enough, or ambitious enough. He knew that colleges could never keep up with the ever changing world of computers. Instead, he taught himself how to program. And just like with the Nerds company, his hobby transformed into a company.

He had the unique idea of writing custom software by request only for companies that had a specific need.

Dustin counter argued, "Mike, why wouldn't they just buy software off the shelf?"

"Because they'll pay for a product where they only use ten percent of the features. So we create software for them that does exactly what they want. No more, no less. At a fraction of the cost."

"What if they want more features later?"

"Then we add them. Keeping in mind that a final full featured product would still be cheaper than the competition."

Dustin was skeptical, but could envision the big picture and once again, Mike and Dustin were working together. Hiring more people. And once again, the big tech company took interest and offered to buy them out. Once again, Mike retired for the second time.

XXXXX

El was growing tired of sketching, all she really wanted to do was sketch Mike in his various moods, but offers of new commissions kept coming in. Every time she turned one town they would ask her to name a price, she'd give them a ridiculous figure and they wouldn't blink an eye writing her a cheque.

"You are a creative person El, you will go crazy if you don't have an outlet for your creativity." Mike had told her.

She had agreed but she didn't feel as if trying to paint was a step forward, more of a step sideways and he knew she wouldn't be happy with that.

"Why don't you try writing? Your vocabulary is a thousand times better than it was. Actually it's better than most people's… including mine." Mike had returned the smile she gave him.

He set her up with a computer and a word processor, and left her to write.

El stared at a blank screen all day, For a title she and typed "The" at the top of the page. That was it, she had nothing after that.

She came to the realization that wanting to be a writer and actually _being_ a writer with ideas and the drive to write was something else entirely. Maybe it wasn't novels she wa meant to write. Maybe it was poetry?

The blank screen she looked at didn't tell her one way or another.

XXXXX

That day in the mall five years ago had been good for both of them. Getting to see Lucas again after so long had been a boost for him. Lucas had cleaned himself up, and had gotten back together with Max.

For her part, Max's attitude was close to the exact opposite compared to when they all hung out together. It was a little weird seeing her this way, she didn't seem like the Max they were all used to. It wasn't bad... just different.

They started to hang out more often with Lucas and Max. El wanted to invite them out to the cabin every now and then but Mike shook his head. He was adamant that El had a safe place she could retreat to, either with or without Mike. One that nobody but he and her dad knew about. Not just because of any danger she might face, but a place were she felt comfortable and at home if even if she was only having a bad day.

XXXXX

The night El told Mike about her treatment at the lab was the worse night of his life. The doctors in the lab only called her Eleven. Her dad had shortened it to El so she wouldn't be constantly reminded her name was a number.

She told him about the sleep and food deprivation. She was always cold wearing only a hospital gown. She told him about the solitary confinement if she didn't perform well in their experiments. She told him about cold bath. She told him she'd never gone to school until she was nine. So she couldn't speak very well and kept quiet most of the time. She told him her head was shaved almost every week so electronic probes would work better. She'd never learned to ride a bike, and she had an accident and scraped her knee the first time she tried. She had smiled at Mike when she told him that.

At first Mike was super pissed off. Then he was angry. And then he just cried. How could _anybody_ do those things to a sweet girl like El? It was inconceivable. She never done anything bad or mean spirited to anybody in her entire life. When El hugged him and told him it was ok, he just cried harder, and louder. He was sure he sounded like a wounded animal that was going to die soon.

When El asked him if he still loved her he had almost fainted with grief. He promised forever. They held each other desperately until they fell asleep on the sofa in each others arms.

Mike didn't think he could love El anymore than he did, but after that night he knew he was wrong. He loved El more than he thought was humanly possible. El was his friend, his lover, and his wife.

Mike wanted to do something for El he knew that no one else would be able to. He noticed over the last few years that they were getting restless. Not with each other of course, only with their lives. Being successful at this age was not necessarily a good thing.

Mike made the decision...

When Mike was 30, he took El on a trip around the world.

For the next five years they lived in almost every country in the world. It was exhilarating to see the enchanted look in El's eyes as he took her to see the Eiffel Tower, the CN Tower, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge and countless other places.


	14. When El Was 35

El had lived a sheltered life for the first nine years of her life. Everything that happened to her after her dad had rescued her, even the simplest, the smallest things was a marvel of kindness. Her life with Mike was, even with her much improved vocabulary, hard to describe. Mike treated her like a princess. A friend. Like his wife.

Their life was perfect, almost too perfect. They had both had gotten restless. El was a little worried that Mike was a little tired of their relationship… well tired was not the quite word. El had been the only girlfriend that Mike ever had. He'd never really had his heart broken and El would never do that to him, but she watched Mike carefully and he seemed listless throughout the day. Almost everyday.

Mike told her he loved her everyday, and she could see it in those eyes. His love was true. She never had to doubt the love they had for each other. Something...

When El figured it out, there was a bit of relief and new worry at the same time. They were bored.

Mike must have seen it in her eyes. He had smiled at her, grabbed her hand, and said "c'mon."

Mike drove her to Chicago. From there they hopped on a plane.

El was thrilled with the flight, she'd never seen a plane that large in real life. At one point she asked, "where are we going, Mike?"

"Paris, city of love."

El giggled, "how long does that take?"

"About eight hours, we're going there to live for a few months."

"Mike, I haven't packed anything!"

He had grinned. "I guess I'll just have to buy you the lastest Parisian fashions."

They had been there a month. Mike made sure they were properly dressed for region and climate… and the top of the Eiffel Tower. El had a crick in her neck from staring so long at the struts of the towers legs. She didn't think she had blinked the entire ride up the elevator.

El's eyes started to water when she looked out over the city of Paris, she had turned around to thank Mike, and at first she didn't see him, but then noticed he was done on one knee.

The tourists were looking at the two of the them expectantly.

"Will you marry me, El… again?"

El's tears could not keep up with demands of her heart. She nodded unable to speak. The crowd of tourists whistled and clapped.

Mike gestured to someone outside of her field of vision. They were getting married right there!

Mike asked her to marry him during a sunset over the pyramids in Egypt.

Mike asked her to marry him during a sunset at Stonehenge.

Mike asked her to marry him during a sunset at the Taj Mahal.

Mike asked her to marry him during the eclipse in Costa Rica. El had cried at the sight of the eclipse, he eyes wide in wonder at the same time. She knew she would cry even harder when she turned around, because Mike would be down on one knee telling her he loved her and wanted her to marry him again.

He did the same thing atop the CN Tower in Canada. He had pointed to a spot on the horizon. "We're going there next."

El couldn't see anything, but Mike told her it was Niagara falls.

Once they were there, Mike gave her a waterproof poncho, she looked up at the cloudless sky wondering what he had in mind.

Once she was at the Falls she understood, the heavy spray instantly soaked their hair on the tour boat. She was in tears again, at the sight, and knowing what was coming from Mike.

Once again the tourists cheered and clapped.

El didn't think Mike could top himself after all this. El was so wrong. She was dealing with Mike Wheeler. His love for her was reflected in his eyes every time she looked into them.

When they took a twelve hour flight to Norway, El had no idea what to expect.

They finally ended up in Tromsø. And then on a cruise ship.

El had to keep wiping her eyes so her vision wasn't blurred while she looked at a spectacular display of northern lights. Mike had his arm around her waist, looking up and watching with her. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"This is the universe is telling me I need to ask you to marry me, El. Will you marry me again?"

That was the only thing that could get her to take her eyes away from the sky, she wrapped her arms around Mike's neck, crying up against it and nodded. She felt a presence nearing them, it was the ship's Captain there to perform the ceremony.

Mike awoke her in the ship's cabin before it was light out. He looked very nervous and told her to get dressed quickly. He led her by the hand out to the observation deck.

El looked around to see that others were gathered also. What was going on?

Everyone was staring towards the east of the fjord, high mountains on both sides of them. There were excited whispers from the tourists as the sun started to peak over the water horizon.

When a whale made a tremendous breach so close to the ship El thought should could have reached out and touched it. The crowd gasped and clapped. Her eyes had been wide, her mouth a large O at the wonder, she was breathless as she turned to look at Mike to thank him.

He was down on one knee again, "even the creatures of the sea El. They want me to ask you to marry me… again…"

"Det vil bli en ja? The ship's Captain asked in his native tongue. She started to cry unabashedly, and nodded.

She would marry Mike, whenever or wherever Mike asked her. She would, and already did, she realized, follow him around the world as his wife, his soulmate. They were joined at the heart. Forever.

Absolutely nothing could change that.

"Mike?"

"I know El."

When El was 35 Mike took her back to the cabin. Back home.

He had given her an adventure that few people got to experience. They had renewed their vows in every country they had lived in. Mike had given her enough memories for several lifetimes.

It was simple, really. El loved Mike. And she would long after they were gone from the earth.


	15. When Mike Was 40

The year they lived abroad and been exhilarating for both of them. They had left Hawkins behind physically, but it was always in their thoughts. El had told Mike that while she cherished their friends, she didn't want any contact when they were gone. Their friends were fine with it, if not a bit jealous that Mike was taking her on a grand adventure. She wanted total freedom from her past. She did connect regularly with her dad, that was one of the nicer conveniences of having a cell phone. But he was their only Hawkins connection.

Mike was always protective of El and her shyness around people, but she had been transformed when they left home. She was friendly to strangers, very outgoing. He was amazed at her change. Mike was now the exact opposite and it was El who was protective of _his_ shyness. She dealt with cab drivers, hotel clerks, wait staff in restaurants, airline attendants.

Super Type A didn't cover it. El was even more amazing when he found she picked up the language of every country they lived in, and most they visited. She was a sponge for languages. The locals always appreciated it.

One time in an Austrian cafe, the wait staff asked her what part of Germany she was from. Apparently her command of the language hid any accent she might have had.

Mike had barely been able to get through Spanish classes in high school, but El was speaking it within days of their time in Spain.

She really was the most amazing girl. And she was his wife. He shook his head in wonder a lot of the time. He was the luckiest guy alive. There was no truer fact.

When they had finally gotten home, they were shocked to see that Max and Lucas had three children. One was a dead ringer for Erica, one a dead ringer for Max, and the other for Lucas. It couldn't have been more perfect for them. They were a handful, but that wasn't much of a surprise given who their parents were.

Dustin had married and then divorced Stacey. When asked about it he would shrug and say, "it wasn't meant to be, not like you guys." He seemed perfectly fine, the divorce hadn't been messy, not like it could have with the amount of money from the company on the line. Stacey was taken care of, and apparently they were still friends, but they didn't socialize.

Jonathan had walked out on Nancy after he found her with Steve. She blamed herself of course. Steve had changed, and he'd always loved her. It was awkward all the way around, but everyone was much happier in the end. Jonathan had gotten married to a girl he'd met at a party one Halloween a long time ago.

Will had disappeared. Mrs. Byers said he always seemed unhappy in Hawkins, his art career had flourished in New York, and they assumed he still lived there. He never made any contact with anyone in Hawkins. Clearly he was done with his past and all the friends he'd had.

Troy and James had been killed in a meth lab explosion. It had not been quick for them. Mike couldn't generate any sympathy.. El had called it poetic justice, and he had to agree.

Mr. Melvald was still alive _and_ still running his store. Dustin had commented that he didn't think humans could live that long. El had said there shouldn't be any upper limit if you were doing something kind for people. Mike told her she'd probably live forever then.

Mike's father had died in his sleep. An entire weekend had gone by and nobody had taken any notice. He lived alone in the house once Mike's mother had run off to parts unknown with Billy.

El was worried that Mike's nuclear family had fallen apart. Mike had shrugged, "life happens, El. Sometimes you get the elevator, sometimes you get the shaft." He'd laughed, "that's not original, I can't remember where I first heard that."

Mike's little sister Holly had married Lucas's sister Erica. The only thing people had said was, "about time."

Mr. Clarke was now the principal of the school and still taught the odd class. Mike and El made a point of visiting regularly and he was always delighted to see them, calling them his two favourite students.

After the initial euphoria of coming back home from their lives overseas, Mike noticed that El seemed to be a little depressed.

It wasn't totally unexpected, and he was sure that it wasn't their relationship. El had come right out and told him that she wasn't happy that her hair hadn't grown any further. Mike told the same thing he did every time she mentioned it.

"I don't care, El."

She wasn't happy that she'd never gotten bustier, he'd said he didn't care about that either.

"If it's any consolation El, you have a nice ass." She swatted his arm and laughed. But she'd gone back to keeping her hair buzzed. Mike really liked it, he told her it made her pretty eyes stand out.

One day he'd gotten a bit of a scare. El had come out of the bathroom her eyes were red rimmed with all the crying she'd done.

Mike feared the worst, but he hugged her without asking what was wrong. He was scared to death. He ended up scaring himself to the point of crying and it was El who asked him what was wrong.

"I'm worried about you, you've been crying."

"You're crying because I am?" She said, "aren't we a pair. Look at me Mike. Do you see it?"

He looked her up and down. "Um, no El."

"Look closer." Mike stared into her beautiful eyes..

"Still not seeing it El."

"C'mon Mike, it's plain to see."

He searched her eyes. Nothing. "No third eye, no booger stuck embarrassingly in your nose. No witches wart with three hairs growing out of it. All your teeth are still there."

She put her hands on her hips, impatient.

"Nope, still my El. Out with it."

"I have a wrinkle. More than one, crow's feet. I'm getting old Mike."

"Those laugh lines?"

"Laugh lines are what people who don't have them call them."

Mike put his hand over her heart. "This is how old you are El. How you feel in your heart. When I look at you I still see a nine year old girl…. Uh, but not in a creepy way, of course. You know what I mean. You're still my El and I..." He took a breath.

El knew what he meant. She bit her bottom lip . She still wasn't quite convinced. So…

When Mike and El were 40 he told her she was still pretty.

Really pretty.


	16. When Mike and El Were 50

Mike and El were sitting on the porch swing chair. They were watching the fall sunset drinking their coffee. El was curled up into Mike's side. They had a large patchwork quilt El had made years ago especially for occasions like this.

"Thank you, Mike."

Mike kissed the top of her head. "Mmmm, for what?"

"For kissing my knee when I scraped it. You actually did make it feel better. I went from the pain of my knee to falling in love with you. I didn't even understand why I was feeling that. I just knew that I loved you that day. Is that even possible when you are nine years old?"

"I'll let you in on a little secret. When I doubled you on my bike the same day, and you had your arms around me. You were holding on so tight I could barely breathe. It was like you never wanted to let me go. That was when I knew. I didn't _want_ you to let me go. El, I was nine too, and that was the day I fell in love with you. Having you that close for the whole day… it changed my life. _You_ changed my life. I didn't even know how much then. The feeling never went away, it just got stronger every day."

El tilted her head up, her eyes closed. Mike gave her a soft kiss.

"And it's even stronger today than ever. I love you El."

"I love you too, Mike."

When Mike and El were 50, they lived happily ever ever.

They both knew, when you have that kind of love, it really _does_ last forever.


End file.
